Spring actuated weedless fishing lure

ABSTRACT

A spring actuated weedless fishing lure increases the chances of successfully catching a fish without entangling a hook on plant material. A weedless guard system prevents the hook from catching on weeds and compresses a spring to hold the spring and hook in a retracted position. When a fish strikes, the weedless guard system is released allowing the spring to expand and push the hook in a longitudinal direction to an expanded position away from other parts of the lure. This expanded position provides a greater area for the fish&#39;s mouth to engage with the hook without interference from other parts of the lure. The expanded position also allows the hooks to embed closer to the front of a fish&#39;s mouth and reduces the risk of the fish swallowing the whole lure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/520,299 filed on Jun. 15, 2017.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a spring actuated weedless fishing lure thatprojects one or more hooks in a longitudinal direction to more securelyattach to a fish upon engaging the lure.

2. Description of Related Art

Weedless fishing lures provide a mechanism to prevent the hook fromsnagging on plant material, such as a tree limb or lily pad, whilefishing. These types of lures are well known in the prior art. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,446 discloses a single or double hook lurewith a guard that holds the end of the hook(s) so they do not hook intoany plant material. Once engaged by a fish, the hook end is releasedfrom the guard allowing the hook to embed in the fish's mouth. Inanother example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,138, the hook end is hidden withina cavity of the lure body (shaped like a small fish for example). Thehook is attached to a “spring member” that has an upper, stiff curvedportion and a lower flexible portion of spring steel or resilientplastic. When engaged by a fish, the lower flexible portion is pushedtoward the stiff portion, which causes the hook to move in an arcuatedirection out of the cavity to embed in the fish's mouth.

These weedless prior art lures are effective at preventing the hook fromgetting caught on plant material; however, the guards that prevent thehook from snagging on plants and tree limbs can also result in missing afish altogether. Once a fish strikes the lure, the guard mechanisms orother aspects of the lure body can interfere with the hook or provideonly a small area for the fish's mouth to engage with the hook making itdifficult for the hook to sufficiently embed in the mouth to catch thefish. Another problem with prior art lures, particularly in bassfishing, is that the fish can end up swallowing the whole lure. If thereis a need to release the fish, it can be impossible to remove aswallowed lure without significantly harming the fish. There is a needfor a weedless hooking system that does not interfere with embedding thehook in the fish's mouth, reduces the rate of catch failure after astrike, and reduces the risk of the fish swallowing the lure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one preferred embodiment, a spring actuated weedless lureaccording to the invention comprises a housing, a spring disposed withinthe housing and configured to move a hook in a substantiallylongitudinal direction (relative to the housing), and a guard connectedto the housing and releasably connected to the hook. When connected tothe hook, the guard holds the hook and spring in a retracted position.Once a fish strikes, the connection between the guard and hook isreleased, allowing the spring to expand and to launch or move the hookfrom a retracted position to an extended position along a longitudinalaxis relative to the housing. The hook is preferably extended out 1-3inches from the proximal end of the housing when in an extendedposition. This allows the lure to have the benefits of a weedless hookbut also prevents the guard or housing from interfering with catchingthe fish. The extended hook position also increases the chances ofcatching a fish since they are positioned in a larger exposed area withmore distance between the hook and the rest of the lure, providing agreater chance of being embedded in the fish's mouth. It also allows thehook to embed in the first inch or two of the fish's mouth, withoutallowing the entire lure to be swallowed, making it easier to releasethe fish if desired.

According to another preferred embodiment, a spring actuated weedlesslure like that described above is contained within a hollow body,preferably shaped like a frog, worm, small fish, or other design thatwould attract a fish to strike the lure. The housing, guard and hook arepreferably disposed entirely within the hollow body when the spring isin a retracted position. The hollow body preferably has one or moreapertures to allow the hook or hooks to extend out away from the bodywhen the spring is released and the hooks or hooks are in an extendedposition. Most preferably, the hook or hooks are extended 1-3 inchesbeyond the proximal end of the hollow body when in an extended position.When a hollow body is used, the guard need not engage with the barb endof the hook to provide a weedless design because the hooks are disposedinside and protected from entanglement with plant material by the hollowbody. A guard that does engage the barb ends of the hook, similar tothat disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,446 or in other prior art, mayalso be used with various embodiments of the invention with or without ahollow body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The system and method of the invention is further described andexplained in relation to the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a double hook fishing lure in a retractedposition according to one preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation cross sectional view of the fishing lure ofFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a perspective cross sectional view of the fishing lure ofFIGS. 1 and 2 ; and

FIG. 4 is side elevation cross sectional view of the fishing lure ofFIG. 1 in an extended position; FIG. 5 is a perspective cross sectionalview of the fishing lure of FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation cross sectional view of the fishing lure ofFIG. 1 within one embodiment of a decorative hollow body;

FIG. 7 is an end elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a perspective cross sectional view of another preferredembodiment of a fishing lure in a retracted position; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective cross sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 8in an extended position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-5 , one preferred embodiment of a spring actuatedweedless lure 10 is depicted. Lure 10 preferably comprises a housing 12,an attachment mechanism 14, a weedless guard system 16, and a spring 28disposed inside housing 12. Attachment mechanism 14 is preferably a ringor eye bolt secured to one end of housing 12 to allow lure 10 to beattached to a fishing line or connected to a hollow body (such as adecorative frog). Weedless guard system 16 preferably comprises a hook18 and a guard 20. Guard 20 is preferably an elongated, flexible pin orwire loop. One end of guard 20 is connected to housing 12 and the otherend of guard 20 is releasably connected to hook 18. Any prior artmechanism for releasably connecting a guard to a hook may be used withguard 20 and hook 18 in weedless guard system 16. When engaged, weedlessguard system 16 holds hook 18 in a retracted position, compressingspring 28. When disengaged, weedless guard system 16 releases hook 18allowing spring 28 to expand and move hook 18 in a substantially linearor longitudinal direction (aligned with or parallel to a longitudinalaxis of housing 12) from its retracted position to an expanded position.Weedless guard system 16 is disengaged when external pressure is exertedon guard 20 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the directionof movement of hook 18 when released. When a fish strikes, its mouthexerts pressure in a substantially lateral direction (relative tohousing), disengaging weedless guard system 16 and allowing hook 18 tomove in a longitudinal direction.

Hook 18 may be a single hook, but is more preferably a double hook. Eachhook 18 preferably comprises a longitudinal body or shaft 30, an curvedor arcuate portion 32, and a barbed end 34. When a double hook 18 isused, a single shaft 30 may split or fork prior to arcuate portions 32to form a double hook or two separate shafts 30 may be used. When adouble hook 18 is used, wireless guard system 16 also preferablycomprises brace 22 and a barb 24. Brace 22 is disposed between the twohooks 18 and barb 24 extends from brace 22. In this preferredembodiment, guard 20 is a single pin or piece of wire with one endconnected to housing 12 and the distal end may have an aperture toengage with barb 24. Alternatively, the distal end of guard 20 may havea small hook or barb to engage with brace 22 (in which case it is notnecessary to use barb 24) or a loop may dangle from brace 22 (in placeof barb 24) to engage with the hook or barb on the end of guard 20. Inanother preferred embodiment as shown in FIGS. 8-9 , guard 20 is in aloop configuration with both ends connected to housing 12 and the distalend of the loop engaging with barb 24 to secure hooks 18 in a retractedposition. Barb 24 and guard 20 are made of materials that are preferablystrong enough to remain engaged during use and flexible enough to allowthem to disengage when the force from a fish biting the lure is applied.As additional alternatives, guard 20 may comprise a loop, or a singlepin or piece of wire with a distal end having an aperture that isconfigured to engage with a barbed end of one or both hooks 18 (in whichcase, brace 22 and barb 24 are not necessary) or may comprise a singlepin or piece of wire with a barb at its distal end configured to engagewith brace 22 (in which case barb 24 is not needed).

Housing 12 is preferably substantially cylindrical with one sealed endnear attachment mechanism 14. The other end is at least partially opento allow movement of an elongated shaft 30 or longitudinal portion ofhook 18 along a longitudinal axis of housing 12. Spring 28 is preferablydisposed inside housing 12, between the sealed end of housing 12 andplate 26, which is also disposed inside housing 12. Plate 26 isconnected or connectable to the elongated shaft portion 30 of hook 18.Hook 18 and plate 26 may be integrally formed or connected together byadhesive, welding, threaded attachment, or the like. A seal, such as ano-ring, may optionally be placed around plate 26 to provide awater-tight or substantially water-tight seal to prevent water fromentering the portion of housing 12 in which spring 28 is disposed.Alternatively, plate 26 may optionally be made of material, such asrubber, that acts as a seal against interior wall surfaces of housing 12to prevent water from entering the portion of housing 12 in which spring28 is disposed. This may allow the interior spring cavity of housing 12to be filled with air or another gas to aid in lure 10 floating at ornear the surface of the water, if desired.

When guard 20 is connected to hook 18 (or barb 24), it holds hook 18 andplate 26 in a retracted position, compressing spring 28 inside housing12 as shown in FIGS. 1-3 . When a fish strikes, its mouth puts pressureon guard 20, releasing it from hook 18 (or barb 24). When guard 20 isdisengaged from hook 18 (or barb 24), plate 26 is no longer held in aretracted position allowing spring 28 to expand and push plate 26rearwardly inside housing 12. This movement of plate 26 also causes hook18 to move rearwardly, extending it along a longitudinal axis relativeto housing 12 to an extended position as shown in FIGS. 4-5 . Thedirection of hook movement is substantially longitudinal and not arcuateas in some prior art lures. Most preferably, the extended position forhook 18 is around 1-3 inches from the retracted position of hook 18 oraround 1-3 inches the proximal end of a decorative hollow body (ifused). The partially open end of housing 12 may comprise an annular lipthat prevents plate 26 from being pulled out of housing 12 when the hook18 embeds in the fish's mouth. Alternatively, plate 26 may be connectedto spring 28 and spring 28 may be connected to housing 12, to maintain aconnection between the hook 18 and housing 12 (and to the attachedfishing line) when the hook 18 is embedded in the fish's mouth.

According to another preferred embodiment, lure 10 also comprises adecorative hollow body 36 that is in a shape, such as a frog as shown inFIG. 6 , that would attract a fish to strike the lure. Other shapes forhollow body 36 may also be used. The hollow body 36 may also be part ofthe weedless guard system 16, by protecting all or part of hook 18 fromsubstantial contact with plant material when hook 18 is in a retractedposition. Preferably, at least the barb end 34 of hook 18, and morepreferably all of hook 18 that is outside of housing 12 when in aretracted position, is disposed inside the hollow body 36. Mostpreferably housing 12, guard 20, hook 18, and brace 22 and barb 24 (ifused) fit entirely within the hollow body 36 when the hook 18 is in aretracted position. The hollow body preferably has one or more apertures38 that correspond in size and location with hook(s) 18 that will allowhook(s) 18 to extend through the apertures in the hollow body 36 whenguard 20 is disengaged by a fish strike and spring 28 pushes the hooks18 rearwardly (in a direction substantially opposite from where thefishing line is attached to lure 10). Alternatively, the barb end 34 ofhook 18 may press up against an exterior surface of the hollow body whenin a retracted position and other portions of lure 10 may be disposedinside the hollow body. A fishing line 40 may be attached to the hollowbody (if used) or may pass through another aperture in the hollow body(such as a mouth of a frog body) to attach to attachment mechanism 14.

According to another preferred embodiment, spring 28 may be integrallyformed with a longitudinal portion of hook 18 without requiring use ofplate 26. According to another preferred embodiment, housing 12 may beintegrally formed with attachment mechanism 14 and/or guard 20 or theseparts may be connected together by adhesive, sonic welding, threadedconnections, or a combination thereof. Housing 12 may also be integrallyformed with hollow body 36 or housing and hollow body may be a singlesubstantially cylindrical unit (particularly if a narrow bodied design,such as a worm, is used). Various materials, such as plastics, rubber,and metals, may be used for the parts of lure 10, as will be understoodby those of ordinary skill in the art. Lure 10 according to variouspreferred embodiments may be of differing sizes, depending on the typeof fish that the user desires to catch. Typically lure 10 (withouthollow body 36) will preferably be around 2.5 to 5.5 inches long (in aretracted position) and around 1 to 2.5 inches wide. With hollow body36, lure 10 will preferably be around 2.75 to 7 inches long (in aretracted position) and around 1.25 to 4 inches wide. Other sizes mayalso be used depending on the size and type of fish desired. Lure 10 canbe reused multiple times by simply pushing hook 18 inward toward housing12 to compress spring 28 and re-engaging guard 20 with hook 18 (or barb24 or other releasable connection used in weedless guard system 16) tohold spring 28 in the retracted position in preparation for the nextfish strike.

Although primarily described with a two hook configuration as shown inthe figures, embodiments of the invention may use a single hook or anymultiple hook configuration as will be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art. Those of ordinary skill in the art will alsoappreciate upon reading this specification and the description ofpreferred embodiments herein that modifications and alterations to thesystem may be made within the scope of the invention and it is intendedthat the scope of the invention disclosed herein be limited only by thebroadest interpretation of the appended claims to which the inventorsare legally entitled.

I claim:
 1. A fishing lure comprising: a decorative hollow body; ahousing disposed inside the hollow body, the housing having a sealedfirst end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis; a hook extendingoutwardly of the second end of the housing, the hook comprising alongitudinal body aligned with the longitudinal axis, a curved portionconnected to the longitudinal body, and a barb disposed at an end of thecurved portion, wherein the entirety of the hook is disposed inside thedecorative hollow body when in a retracted position; a guard having afirst end and a second end, the first end of the guard directlyconnected to the first end of the housing and the second end of theguard configured to be releasably connectable to the hook to releasablyhold the longitudinal body of the hook in the retracted positiondisposed a first distance from the first end of the housing; a platedisposed inside the housing and wherein the longitudinal body of thehook is substantially perpendicular to and connected to the plate; and asealing ring disposed around the plate; a spring disposed between and incontact with the first end of the housing and the plate and configuredto move the longitudinal body of the hook along the longitudinal axis toan extended position disposed a second distance from the first end ofthe housing when the guard is released from the hook; wherein thedecorative hollow body comprises an aperture configured to allow thecurved portion and the barb of the hook to pass through the aperturewhen the longitudinal body is being moved by the spring to the extendedposition; wherein the extended position is around 1-3 inches from an endof the decorative hollow body proximal to the hook; wherein the lure isconfigured to float at or near a surface of water; wherein (1) the guardis disposed entirely inside the hollow body, (2) no part of the guard isdirectly connected to the hollow body, and (3) the guard does notdirectly engage with the barb to hold the hook in the retractedposition; wherein the guard is configured to release the longitudinalbody of the hook from the retracted position upon application ofpressure in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction ofmovement of the longitudinal body of the hook; and wherein the firstdistance is shorter than the second distance.
 2. The fishing lure ofclaim 1 wherein the decorative hollow body is shaped like a frog, fish,worm, or insect.
 3. A fishing lure comprising: a hollow body; a housingdisposed inside the hollow body, the housing having a first end, asecond end, and a longitudinal axis; a hook extending outwardly of thesecond end of the housing, the hook comprising a single longitudinalbody aligned with the longitudinal axis, a first curved portionconnected to the single longitudinal body, a second curved portionconnected to the single longitudinal body, and a first barb disposed atan end of the first curved portion distal from the single longitudinalbody, a second barb disposed at an end of the first curved portion andthe second curved portion, and an optional third barb connected to thebrace; a guard having a first end and a second end, the first end of theguard directly connected to the first end of the housing and the secondend of the guard configured to be releasably connectable to the hook toreleasably hold the single longitudinal body of the hook in a retractedposition disposed a first distance from the first end of the housing; aspring disposed inside the housing and configured to move the singlelongitudinal body of the hook along the longitudinal axis to an extendedposition disposed a second distance from the first end of the housingwhen the guard is released from the hook; a plate disposed inside thehousing and a sealing ring disposed around the plate; wherein the guardreleasably engages with the brace, the first barb, the second barb, orthe optional third barb to hold the single longitudinal body of the hookin the retracted position, wherein the first end of the housing issealed; wherein the spring is disposed between and in contact with thefirst end of the housing and the plate; wherein the single longitudinalbody of the hook is substantially perpendicular to and connected to theplate; wherein the hollow body comprises an aperture configured to allowthe the first curved portion, the second curved portion, the first barb,and the second barb of the hook to pass through the aperture when thesingle longitudinal body is being moved by the spring to the extendedposition; wherein the guard is configured to release the singlelongitudinal body of the hook from the retracted position uponapplication of pressure in a direction substantially perpendicular tothe direction of movement of the single longitudinal body of the hook;wherein the entirety of the hook is disposed inside the hollow body whenthe single longitudinal body is in the retracted position; wherein theguard is disposed entirely inside the hollow body and no part of theguard is directly connected to the hollow body; wherein the firstdistance is shorter than the second distance; and wherein the lure isconfigured to float at or near a surface of water.
 4. A fishing lurecomprising: a decorative hollow body comprising at least one aperture; ahousing disposed inside the decorative hollow body, the housing having asealed first end, a second end, a substantially cylindrical sidewallextending from the first end to the second end, an annular lip extendinginwardly from the substantially cylindrical sidewall, and a longitudinalaxis; a single plate disposed inside the housing; a sealing ringdisposed around the plate and configured to seal against the cylindricalsidewall; a hook extending outwardly of the second end of the housing,the hook comprising a single longitudinal body aligned with thelongitudinal axis and connected at a first end substantiallyperpendicularly to the single plate, a first curved portion connected tothe single longitudinal body, a first barb disposed at an end of thefirst curved portion, a second curved portion connected to the singlelongitudinal body, a second barb disposed at an end of the second curvedportion, and a brace connected to the first and the second curvedportions; a guard disposed entirely inside the decorative hollow body,the guard comprising a first end and a second end, the first end of theguard directly connected to the first end of the housing and the secondend of the guard configured to releasably engage with the brace toreleasably hold the hook in a retracted position wherein the first endof the single longitudinal body is disposed a first distance from thefirst end of the housing; a spring disposed inside the housing betweenand in contact with the first end of the housing and the single plate,wherein the spring is configured to move the single longitudinal body ofthe hook along the longitudinal axis to an extended position when thehook is released by the guard, wherein the first end of the singlelongitudinal body is disposed a second distance from the first end ofthe housing when in the extended position, and wherein the firstdistance is shorter than the second distance; wherein no part of theguard is directly connected to the hollow body, the guard does notdirectly engage with the first barb or the second barb to hold the hookin the retracted position, the guard only directly contacts the housingat the first end of the guard and the first end of the housing, thefirst end of the guard does not move relative to the housing, and theguard is configured to release the hook from the retracted position uponapplication of pressure in a direction substantially perpendicular tothe direction of movement of the single longitudinal body of the hook;wherein the at least one aperture in the decorative hollow body isconfigured to allow the first and the second curved portions and thefirst and the second barbs of the hook to pass through the aperture whenthe longitudinal body is being moved by the spring to the extendedposition; wherein the entirety of the hook is disposed inside thedecorative hollow body when in the retracted position and the hook doesnot move in a substantially arcuate direction when released by theguard; wherein the single longitudinal body and the first and the secondcurved portions have a first relative positioning with respect to eachother when the hook is in the retracted position and have a secondrelative positioning with respect to each other when the singlelongitudinal body of the hook is in the extended position that is thesame as the first relative positioning; wherein the annular lip isconfigured to retain the single plate in the housing; and wherein thelure is configured to float at or near a surface of water.